Protective environmentally friendly accessory for marine piling

ABSTRACT

An add-on protective covering for a support piling on an existing marine structure. The add-on protective covering has two pieces. First is a generally U-shaped piece which fits around an existing piling. One end of the U-shaped piece, a sliding piece, will slide into place on connectors with the U-shaped piece and on the sliding piece. The connectors serve the dual purpose of holding the sliding piece in place and restricting water flow to the space inside the protective covering. Restricting water flow prevents the growth of marine organisms on the existing marine piling this is an add on protective covering for installed pilings in a salt water marine environment where marine borers attach pilings.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The current invention relates generally to an after market accessory to be installed on an existing marine piling to protect the marine piling from damage by marine organisms to extend the life of the piling and to avoid environmental contamination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wood posts or pilings are used in a wide variety of environments and to fulfill a wide variety of purposes. The posts can be sunk into the ground as support for a building or fence. Pilings or posts can be sunk into ground beneath water to extend above the water to support structures above the water. These kinds of structures are usually called “piling” as opposed to “posts” although, the terms are largely interchangeable. Where a post is used for fencing, it has both functional purposes of providing support for the fencing but also decorative purposes linked to the fence. Consequently, a wide variety of expedients have been proposed to improve the functionality or appearance of a post or piling. For example, Papworth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,483, discloses a longitudinally split, flexible and resilient plastic casing to go around a piling. It is to provide a mold or casing for concrete to be poured into the casing to fit around an eroded section of a piling to provide both structural support and protection for that portion of the piling. The Papworth casing is to provide a means of repair for pilings sunk in water. Williams et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,236, discloses a sheet of flexible plastic wrapped around a substantially circular or column-like piling. Williams' sheath wraps around the piling in a circumferential configuration. The flexible sheath is secured on a piling and held into place. The purpose of the William's sheath is to provide protection against damage from marine organisms and specifically marine borers.

In a different context, fence post protecting apparatus are commonly seen. One example is Ricci, U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,525. This is an apparatus for shielding a fence post from foreign elements. It has a collar section with three side walls and one detachable side wall and a base extending around the perimeter of the collar section. The detachable-side wall is attached to the remainder of the apparatus by tongue-and-groove arrangement which allows a slidable engagement. It is appreciated that the apparatus can be assembled and disassembled by removing or attaching the side wall along a substantial vertical plane. Ricci's cladding device is decorative and reduces the need to paint a post.

In the context of pilings sunk in water subject to attack by marine borers, there are polymer coatings for wood. These polymer coatings usually cover the entire outside of a wood piling so as to fully encapsulate the wood. One brand name for this kind of encapsulated wood piling is called “Timber Guard.” This is marketed on the basis of the environmental benefits. Ordinarily, pilings may be treated with chemical treatments that will protect the piling from damage from marine animals. The chemical treatments are designed to discourage or defeat attack by marine borers. However, these treatments are necessarily harmful to marine organisms or they would not be effective against marine borers. Over time the chemical treatments leach from the wood into the water and surrounding mud. This leaching has two negative effects. First, the wood is then less protected against attacks from marine borers. Secondly, the leaching of the chemicals into the water and mud pollutes the marine environment. Consequently, there are regulations imposed on what kinds of chemicals and amounts of chemicals that can be used for this purpose. These regulations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Over time the regulations have tended to become more stringent and, consequently, less effective amounts of chemical treatments are used than was the case in the past, thus protecting the environment but at the expense of making the pilings more subject to attack by marine borers.

Despite this earlier work, there is a substantial unmet need in the marine industry to protect pilings from marine borers. Pilings are ordinarily sunk by use of a pile driver. The pile driver can destroy or substantially harm a protective sheath or device that is applied to the piling before it is sunk into the grounds. Moreover, an installed piling may be of an uncertain length because it is unclear just how far they will be driven into the ground, how much will be exposed above the ground, and how much of that exposure will also be subject to water exposure in a marine environment. Consequently, sheathing an entire length of an unsunk piling in a protective sheeting of one kind or another can be prohibitively expensive. The sheathing can be stripped or destroyed during shipping and the pile driving process. If the primary purpose of the sheathing is to protect a piling from attack of marine organisms, parts of the piling that are unexposed to water do not need this sheath protection. Sometimes wood pilings that are sunk in the water are chemically treated to discourage growth of marine organisms. As explained above, chemical treatments are temporary and over time the protection leaches from the wood by the exposure to water. Even a treated piling rarely has an effective life span of more than a few years. Flexible cloth-like or woven sheets may be employed around a piling to protect it from attack by marine organisms, including marine borers. However, these can be difficult to apply to a piling that is already sunk into the water. First, to be effective, the sheathing should extend somewhat below the water line into the ground or mud in which the piling is sunk. If even a small portion remains exposed to marine organisms, then they will find and attack that exposed portion. A piling is like a chain in that any part of it is attacked by marine borers then the entire piling is weakened. Consequently, to be effective, any kind of protective sheathing should extend below the ground and cover the piling to above where the water will rise at normally expected high water. Installing such protection on an installed piling is complicated by the fact that virtually all pilings have structures affixed to them be it a dock, a pier, or a walkway. What this means is that at the top of the piling, boards or other structures are affixed to it which makes it impossible to slide a sheathing that extends all the way around the piling, down the piling to provide protection. You cannot install a sheathing from the top of the piling because of the structures. For these reasons, there is no currently offered product for existing installed pilings that provides a way of installing a durable sheathing that will extend into the mud or ground where the piling is exposed to a marine environment, that will extend above the point where the piling is no longer exposed to water, and can be easily and readily installed on the existing piling which does not allow access to the top of the piling. Once installed the sheathing must be durable enough to withstand tidal action and wave action that is common in salt water marine environments and specifically those near or around the ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway. In addition to the action of the tides, there are waves like bow waves, ocean waves, or wind driven waves. These factors create unique stresses on a protective sheathing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention consists of two pieces. First, a three-sided, generally U-shaped piece made of a durable, resistant material, such as a molded plastic material sized to fit around the commonly found 6×6 inch square marine piling used for docks or piers in or near the ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway. The three-sided U-shaped piece of plastic will be of appropriate dimension where it will fit around and on an existing 6×6 inch piling. It need not be an exact fit since there is some variation in the size of wood pilings created by the manufacture and milling process but it must be a reasonably close fit. The fit should reduce the amount of space for water to leak into and between the three-sided U-shaped piece of plastic and the piling. Marine borers require nutrients and oxygen. These nutrients and oxygen are provided by circulating water. Consequently, the three-sided U-shaped piece of plastic and a side wall piece must restrict the circulation of water enough to produce an environment hostile to survival and growth of marine borers. The U-shaped piece may be cut to size to fit on an existing piling. Because the U-shaped piece is open on one side, it may be horizontally mounted on a piling through the open side of the U-shape without requiring access to the top of the piling. Once the three-sided piece is mounted around the piling, it must then be sealed off from water by a side wall piece. The sliding side wall piece slides in and is secured into place against the three-sided piece already placed around the piling. Ordinarily, the side wall piece must bend sufficiently that a sufficient length can be mounted into the three-sided piece. The way the side wall is mounted on the U-shaped three-sided piece must secure it in place against the action of waves and tides. Because the side wall piece necessarily has some flexibility to allow it to be bent to slide into place, the connection between the two pieces must have an interlocking feature which will hold it into place against the stresses created by tides and waves. Consequently, the appropriate connection of the sliding side wall piece to the U-shaped piece is of importance in making the device work. Once the sliding side wall piece is in place against the U-shaped three-sided piece, the unit may be then sunk into the mud at the bottom of the piling. Fitted together, the two pieces form the accessory piling protector. The accessory piling protector will extend for several inches into the mud and at least to the mean high water mark at the top of the piling. Once in place the accessory piling protector will restrict water flow around the piling. This creates an oxygen deprived environment between the piling and the accessory piling protector. No marine borer can survive in this environment created by the accessory piling protector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art pier and prior art pilings.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a prior art pier and pilings.

FIGS. 3 and 3 a show the piling protector in the process of being mounted on a piling.

FIG. 4 shows the piling protector being mounted on pilings of a pier.

FIG. 5 shows connectors for the piling protector.

FIG. 6 shows connectors for the piling protector.

FIG. 7 shows a cutaway portion of a simplified piling protector.

FIG. 8 shows the piling protector secured in place around a piling.

FIG. 9 shows the connectors for the piling protector in detail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art pier (500) supported by prior art pilings (100). Ordinarily, there is a distance (D) between the pier (500) and the mean high water mark (200). This area, because it is ordinarily dry, is not attacked by marine borers. It is unnecessary to have any sheathing or other protective covering for the piling in this dry area. In the areas along the coast that are subject to tide and waves, there is a second mean low water mark (300). The area (V) between the high water (200) and low water (300), is alternately exposed to water and to air, depending on the state of the tide, waves, wind, or other variable factors. There is also a portion of the pilings (100) denominated by the distance (W) which is usually submerged in water almost all the time. Next, there is an amount of mud (400) or other unstable material in which a piling has sunk which is distance (M). Finally, the piling is sunk into solid ground (450). It could be sand, gravel, ground, or other more stable material, which is a stable basis for the piling and allow it to support a structure above it. This distance is denominated as (G) in FIG. 1. While FIG. 1 is not drawn to scale, it is customary building practice in coastal areas to allow distance (D) to be at least four feet. Therefore, there are four feet of clearance between any structures placed on a piling (100) and the mean high water mark (200). In most tidal areas, there will be several inches (M) of mud (400) before one comes to the more solid ground (450).

FIG. 2 shows a side partial prior art pier (500) supported by prior art pilings (100). Again, there is the distance (D) between the pier (500) and the mean high water mark (200). The piling (100) is sunk through the area between the mean high water (200) and the mean low water (300) denominated by the distance (V), then it is usually completely submerged in water denominated by the distance (W). It extends through the mud (400) a distance (M). Finally, it is sunk into the ground (450) a distance (G).

FIGS. 1 and 2 show some of the difficulty in mounting a piling protector on an existing prior art piling. Here, the top of the piling (100) is inaccessible because of the pier (500). The bottom of the piling (100) is inaccessible because it is sunk into the ground (450) and a portion of the piling denominated by the distance (M) is sunk in mud (400) or other loose soil before it gets to a firm area of ground (450). The area denominated between the mean high water mark (200) and the mean low water mark (300) denominated by (V) is subject to a variety of forces. Here, bow waves, ocean waves, wind-driven waves, and the action of the tide will alternately cause the water to go up and down, causing pressure on any sheathing around the pilings. Consequently, an after market accessory that is mounted on an existing piling to protect it from the attack of marine borers in the area where there are active water changes between the mean high water mark (200) and the mud (400) must consider these factors. It must allow for horizontal mounting on the piling (100). It must extend into the mud (400) enough to prevent marine borers from attacking in an uncovered area between the mud and the water. It is desirable that the protector be sized to prevent unnecessary expense in mounting it in the area which is not exposed to the water denominated by (D), since this area is not subject to attack by marine borers which require oxygenated water for nutrients and oxygen.

FIGS. 3 and 3A show the piling protector (150) in the process of being mounted on a piling (100). The three sided piece (110) is first shown in dotted lines with directional arrows. It is slid into place in the direction of the arrows covering three sides of the piling (100). The position of the three sided piece (110) on the piling (100) is seen in more detail in FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3A, one end of the three sided piece (110) open. The sliding piece (120) is shown in FIG. 3 positioned above the three sided piece (110). The sliding niece (120) will slide vertically into place along the open side of the three sided piece (110). It will be held in place by connectors which will be seen in more detail in later drawings. There will be a connector on each side of the three sided piece (110) with matching connectors on sides of the sliding piece (120). In FIGS. 3 and 3A the connectors on the sliding piece (120) and the matching connectors on the three sided piece (110) are not shown in order to simplify FIGS. 3 and 3A. Once the piling protector (150) is assembled with the sliding piece (120) slid into and connected to the three sided piece (110), it will completely enclose the piling (100). In the mounting position shown in FIG. 3, the piling protector (150) extends a distance above the mean high water mark (200) and mud (400). The piling protector (150) will then be slid toward the ground (450) and the mud (400) downwardly in a vertical direction on the piling (100) until the end of the piling projector (150) that is in proximity to the mud (400) and ground (450) will be actually sunk a short distance into the mud (400). The piling protector (150) will be made so that once it is appropriately placed and mounted on the piling (100) and extends a short distance into the mud (400), a small portion of the piling protector (150) will still be above the mean high water mark (200). This means that the portion of the piling (100) that is regularly exposed to water, that is the portion that is at the mean high water mark (200) and extends into the mud, will be completely enclosed by and protected by the piling protector (150). The piling protector (150) can then be nailed or screwed to the piling (100) by use of stainless nails or screws to secure it in place around the piling (100).

FIG. 4 shows the piling protector (150) in the process of being mounted on pilings (100) to a pier (500). From the viewer's left, a three sided piece (110) is first fitted around a piling (100). The upper end of the three sided piece (110) extends above the mean high water mark (200), but below the mean low water mark (300). Once the three sided piece (110) is in place around the piling the sliding piece (120) is slid on connectors (not shown) which are on both the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120). Once the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120) are connected to form the piling protector (150), the piling protector (150) is then slid down the piling (100) to where the bottom end of the piling protector (150) extends below the mud (400) and the top of the piling protector (150) is still above the mean high water mark (200). The piling protector (150) shown fully mounted on the piling (100) on the viewer's right now forms an effective barrier against a growth of marine organisms on the piling (100) because the top of the piling protector (150) is above the mean high water mark (200) while the bottom of the piling protector (150) extends into the mud (400). The piling protector (150) may be secured in place by stainless nails, screws, or other permanent connecting means to the piling (100).

FIGS. 5 and 6 for the first time show connectors (115) on the three sided piece (110) and connectors (125) on the sliding piece (120). FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the piling protector (150). To the viewer's left is the three sided piece (110) and at the corners of the open end of the three sided piece (110) are connectors (115). Matching connectors (125) are seen on the sliding piece (120) at the viewer's right. FIG. 6 shows a top view of the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120). On the viewer's left is the three sided piece (110). Connectors (115) are at the open end of the three sided piece (110). The connectors (115) are an extension and open “U” of the material of which the three sided piece (110) are made. The exact dimensions of the open “U” are determined by the application in which it is used. However, in extremely rough water as opposed to relatively calm water, the three sided “U” connector (115) would necessarily be larger to make a more secure connection with the sliding piece (120). The connector (125) on the sliding piece (120) is a rectangle shape or square shape depending on the application with a small portion open. The open portion will be large enough to allow connection of the three sided piece (110) within the open square or rectangle (125) on the sliding piece (120). The actual connection is shown in FIG. 6 where in LIGHT lines the sliding connector (120) is fitted around the three sided piece (110) using the connectors (115) on the three sided piece (110) and the connectors (125) on the sliding piece (120).

FIG. 7 shows a cutaway portion of a simplified piling protector (150) in place around a piling (100). FIG. 7, the piling (100) and the cutaway portion of the piling protector (150) are submerged in water. The three sided piece (110) is fitted around the piling (100) and the sliding piece (120) is fitted into the connectors (115) and (125) to be secured in place to close off the opening of the three sided piece (110). It is not necessary that the piling protector (150) be water tight. It is only necessary that restrictions of water flow in and out of the piling protector (150) as the water level rises from the mean high water mark (200) to the mean low water mark (300) and is sufficiently restricted to where water inside the piling protector (150) which surrounds and is between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100) become deoxygenated and stagnant over time so that marine bores infesting the piling (100) will not have sufficient oxygen and nutrients from water flow to be able to survive. There is significant tide in water over an approximately twelve hour period which goes from one tide (for example high) to low and back to high. The water level is constantly changing around the piling protector (150). The water level inside the piling protector (150) will lag outside changes. Consequently, there may be water pressure either from water outside the piling protector (150) pushing into the piling protector (150) and specifically against the sliding piece (120) or water inside the piling protector (150) may be higher than the surrounding water hence would create some pressure forcing the sliding piece (120) outward. Consequently, the sliding piece (120) is subject to a flexing motion from water action. This flexing action, hence stress, on the sliding piece (120) is accentuated when there is sudden change in water level such as will be found where there are wind driven waves or waves from the bow of a boat. In some circumstances there may actually be breaking waves thus adding force for gravity as a portion of the water falls from a high position to a low position as happens when a wave breaks. If there is too much space between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100), this has two unwanted side effects. First, it will increase the possibility of failure of the piling protector (150) due to outside forces since there is more room for flexing of the sliding piece (120) and the three-sided piece (110). If the piling protector (150) could be secured tightly against the piling (100), this would greatly reduce the flexing. However, pilings are not ordinarily cut to exact specifications. The “six-inch by six-inch” piling is actually five and one-half inches by five and one-half inches and there will be irregularities in the surface of the wood used for the piling in addition to the tolerances allowed in the manufacturing process of a piling (100) thus, an exact fit is impractical. Second, if there is too much space between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100), it will allow for greater circulation of water hence, may allow the incursion of marine organisms and specifically marine borers to live on and to attack the piling (100) despite the presence of the piling protector (150). For these reasons, it is believed the space allowed between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100) should be no more than one-quarter inch in all dimensions. Consequently, a dimension of the piling (100) is five and one-half inches, then a six-inch opening in the three-sided piece (110) would allow one-quarter inch variation between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100). In FIG. 7, this is the space between the vertical sides of the three-sided piece (110) and the piling (100). Similar tolerances allowed on other dimensions of the assembled piling protector (150) in place around a piling (100) which has ideally one-quarter inch clearance around the piling (100).

FIG. 8 shows the piling protector (150) secured in place around the piling (100). The mean high water mark (200) is shown. It is expected that over a period of time that enough water will leak into the piling protector (150) that the part of the piling protector (150) which is always submerged in the water, that is the part below the mean low water mark (300) will have stagnant water in it and filling the space between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100) as is shown in FIG. 7. Between the low water mark (300) and the high water mark (200) the variability of the water level leads to varying degrees of water between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100). Moreover, it is in this area that sudden and abrupt changes of water levels can happen as is shown by the curling wave (250). These kinds of waves are common in intracoastal areas where boats frequently travel up and down and in these inner waterways because the water is relatively shallow even a small boat can raise a large bow wave which can break as it approaches the shallow shoreline. Consequently, a breaking wave will slam water into the piling protector (150) and more specifically into the sliding piece (120) creating special needs for the connectors that keep the sliding piece (120) on the piling protector (110). Standard connectors such as a tongue and groove connection are likely to fail when subject to these kinds of hydraulic pressures created by rising water levels and waves. Consequently, an interlocking connector such as seen in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are required. Moreover, these kinds of connectors readily adopt to the addition of a gasket or seal which will further restrict water flow in and out of the piling protector (150) in the space between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100). This restriction of water flow as has been explained before is essential for the function of the piling protector (150) to inhibit and prevent growth of marine organisms and specifically marine bores on the piling (100).

FIG. 9 shows a detail of the connection between the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120) using connectors (115) on the three sided piece (110) and the connector (125) on the sliding piece (120) mounted on piling (100). As illustrated in earlier figures, wave and water action can result in flexing of the connection between the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120). The sliding piece (120) can be pulled and pushed against the three sided piece (110) flexing in different directions as shown by the arrows. For these reasons the connection between the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120) secure pieces in place against the forces created by wave and water action. The piling (100), protected by the piling protector (150), is not shown in FIG. 9, but it will be appreciated that in order to inhibit growth of marine organisms on the piling (100) water flow must be restricted around and through the connection between the three sided piece (110) and the sliding piece (120). As can be seen in FIG. 9, if tolerances are small enough there will be a lengthy and curvy path for water to come from outside of the piling protector (150) to the interior. Because the piling protector (150) is ordinarily placed in tidal areas, these areas have particulate matter within the water such as fine mud particles, tiny shells, plant debris. The lengthy path from the outside of the piling protector (150) to the interior will clog with the mud and restrict water flow. It is believed that in most applications this will be sufficient to restrict water flow so as to make the interior area between the piling (100) and the piling protector (150) inhospitable to marine growth. However, if necessary, additional steps could be taken. Various kinds of gaskets or seals could be used in the connectors. Caulk or other material could be used. Tape could be used. Small beads could be placed on a portion of the connector (115) with a matching bead on the connector (125) in order to restrict water flow in and out of the interior between the piling protector (150) and the piling (100). As shown in FIG. 9 the forces which the hydraulic pressure and wave action which impact on the piling protector (150) require that there be matching secure U-shaped connectors as is shown in FIG. 9, both to keep the piling protector (150) in place on the piling (100) and to restrict water flow sufficient to inhibit growth or marine organisms. A distance (T) is shown between one side of a partial view of the piling (100) and the three-sided connector (110). As was explained above, ordinarily this will be as small as possible, but in no event should this distance be greater than one-quarter inch. Consequently, for a five and one-half inch by five and one-half inch piling, the three-sided piece will ordinarily have a dimension of six inches providing for one-quarter inch distance (T) around the piling (100) on all four sides of the piling (100) 

1. An add-on plastic protective covering for a wooden support piling in an existing marine structure comprising: (a) a generally U-shaped plastic piece of predetermined dimensions sized to be placed around three sides of said wooden support piling; (b) a flexible plastic sliding piece of predetermined dimensions to attach to said U-shaped piece and to enclose said wooden support piling on four sides; (c) means for securing said flexible sliding piece to said U-shaped plastic piece against wave and tidal forces; (d) means for restricting water flow through said U-shaped piece and said flexible plastic sliding piece around said wooden support piling; whereby said flexible plastic sliding piece and U-shaped plastic piece are secured around a wooden support piling in a marine environment to restrict growth of marine organisms on said wooden support piling.
 2. An add-on plastic protective covering for a wooden support piling in an existing marine structure of claim 1 wherein said means for securing further comprises on said U-shaped plastic piece at each end of said U-shaped piece, a first hook shaped connector; and on said flexible plastic sliding piece at each end of said sliding piece, a matching second hook shaped connector, whereby said second hook shaped connector on said flexible plastic sliding piece interlocks with said first hook shaped connector on said U-shaped plastic piece securely connecting said flexible plastic sliding piece to said U-shaped plastic piece.
 3. An add-on plastic protective covering for a wooden support piling in an existing marine structure of claim 2 wherein for said U-shaped plastic piece for each of said first hook shaped connector further comprises a first connector arm at a right angle to an arm of said U-shaped plastic piece, a second connector arm at a right angle to said first connector arm; and for each of said second hook shaped connectors on said flexible plastic sliding piece further comprises a first connector arm at a right angle to said flexible plastic sliding piece, a second connector arm at a right angle to said first connector arm, and a third connector arm parallel to said first connector arm; whereby said first and second hook shaped connectors are sized for interlocking connection to each other.
 4. An add-on plastic protective covering for a wooden support piling in an existing marine structure of claim 3 wherein said means for restricting water flow comprises on said first hook shaped connector or said U-shaped plastic piece and said second hook shaped connector on said flexible plastic sliding piece further comprises a gasket means for restricting water flow.
 5. An add-on plastic protective covering for a wooden support piling in an existing marine structure of claim 3 wherein said means for restricting water flow further comprises for said predetermined dimension for said flexible plastic sliding piece and for said predetermined dimension for said U-shape plastic piece when fitted around a wooden piling, provide no more than one-quarter inch space between said add-on plastic protective covering and wooden piling on all four sides of said wooden piling.
 6. An add-on plastic protective covering for a wooden support piling in an existing marine structure of claim 5 wherein said means for restricting water flow further comprises gasket means on said first hook shaped connector for said U-shaped plastic piece and for said second hook shaped connector on said flexible plastic sliding piece. 